The formula for a music biopic, at least the one commonly seen in recent years, can be traced back to 2005’s Walk the Line. While films of this nature have been made well before this, it definitely crystallized and perfected the music biopic template that similar films have used since. It didn’t help that both films were brilliantly parodied in the film Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, which only made the tropes found in them more obvious to some viewers. With every new music biopic that gets released, there are usually comparisons to Walk Hard, and complaints that these films are highly formulaic. I am inclined to agree with these claims, as many of these films do follow a specific structure and deal with similar themes. So imagine my surprise when I heard that director James Mangold was returning to the scene of the crime nearly 20 years after making Walk the Line to direct a film about the legendary Bob Dylan.
Since 2005, Mangold has worked in a variety of genres, ranging from action/adventure to western to sports drama. Considering that he tends to dip his toe into different genres, it is interesting to see him taking another stab at making a music biopic. Walk the Line was a bit of a hit for him, earning great reviews and becoming a box-office success, but it is still a bit odd to see him doing another biopic, let alone one on such a massive cultural figure like Bob Dylan. Considering that he made arguably the definitive film in this genre, what else does he have to say? This prospect also begs the question of whether or not Mangold will just use the same framework from Walk the Line, just with Dylan’s life and career instead of Johnny Cash’s. While A Complete Unknown may have some slight similarities with Walk the Line, Mangold’s latest is a fresher take than some might realize, and avoids many of the pitfalls that most biopics stumble into. The result is not your typical “womb-to-tomb” biography, but the story of the evolution of an artist over time as he becomes more influential and struggles to understand himself. A Complete Unknown manages to break from the typical structure of the music biopic to create a film that captures the enigmatic nature of Bob Dylan, and shows the beginnings of the large impact he would end up having on the world of music and pop culture at large.
Upon arriving in New York City, Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) has two dreams: to try and make it as a performer, and to meet his idol, legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy). When he goes to visit him at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital, he impresses Guthrie and fellow folk singer Pete Seeger (Edward Norton), who see the immense talent he has as a performer and a songwriter. This fortuitous meeting helps kick-off Dylan’s career, and he begins to quickly gain popularity in the folk music scene. The film spans the early days of his career to Dylan’s infamous appearance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, where he used electric instruments, following his growth as an artist and how he changed music forever.
Most biopics tend to zero in on the “rise and fall” narrative that tends to line up with most celebrities. Take Walk the Line, for instance, which mainly focuses on Johnny Cash’s unexpected breakthrough and rise to fame, as well as his complicated personal life and battle with addiction. There are shades of this arc in A Complete Unknown, but it is done in a way that is more about Bob Dylan’s artistry as opposed to the usual schtick many biopics have to offer. We do get scenes detailing his romantic relationships, namely with Elle Fanning’s Sylvie Russo and Monica Barbaro’s Joan Baez, as well as the arc of Dylan becoming more and more famous, but the film’s “rise and fall” is much more interesting than the approach most biopics take.
Rather than Dylan’s “fall” occurring due to personal addiction, greed, or being changed by fame, it happens as a result of how he is perceived by the public and those close to him. The film depicts Dylan as a mysterious young man who people see in various ways. His talent and artistry is apparent to just about everyone he comes across, but his mysteriousness keeps people from truly understanding who he is. Even Chalamet’s version of Dylan struggles with this, as he is trying to figure out who he is as a performer throughout the film. The back half of the film follows him being intrigued by different instruments and styles of music, and would later feature in his albums such as Highway 61 Revisited and Bringing It All Back Home. This includes the use of electric instruments, which does not sit well with the folk purists that have anointed Dylan as an almost messianic figure. Dylan wants to try new things and experiment with his sound, but is met with resistance from those who just want more of the types of songs that first made him famous. He finds himself having to decide if he’s going to appease the people who helped him rise to prominence, or to follow his own heart and be the type of performer and make the kind of music he wants to.
So much of the film deals with Dylan’s mystique, and how he is this seemingly unknowable being. Some might accuse the film of not giving us enough details about him, but I’d argue the opposite. The film understands that Dylan often plays his cards close to his chest, and that he is very careful about the image of himself he presents to others. This film isn’t interested in stripping away his mysterious nature, but it touches on how it has become one of the things that has made him such an iconic figure in music and pop culture. The fact that he isn’t an open book, and that certain details that he does offer up are likely embellished or completely made-up adds on to this, and helps cultivate his distinct identity. Some might not like that the film doesn’t try to demystify Dylan, but I think that this element feels more true to him and his legacy.
However, all of this is wrapped in the conventions of your standard biopic, which does dull some of the shine this film could have had. It is quite direct and plays everything pretty straight, although it does avoid some of the usual tropes of music biopics. On the surface, it might seem like Mangold is just doing another Walk the Line, but when you look past the obvious comparisons, you can see that the film is more of an examination of Dylan’s influence on others as opposed to a standard biography. It may not be as poetic or multi-faceted as something like Todd Haynes’s I’m Not There, which uses multiple actors to portray Bob Dylan’s different public personas, but it is also not trying to be that. It seeks to be a straightforward representation of the massive effect Dylan had on the people around him and music as a whole, and it definitely succeeds on that front.
The thing about this film that gave me some pause was the casting of Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan. I generally like Chalamet as an actor, but I wasn’t sure if he was right for the role in this case. I am glad to have been proven wrong, as this might be one of his finest performances thus far in his career. Chalamet embodies the quieter, guarded sensibilities of Dylan, giving a more mysterious turn that stands apart from the rest of his filmography. He portrays the essence of Dylan quite well, from his mannerisms to adopting a mumbly, slightly gruff speaking style. He also has this gravitational pull to him that draws you in, just like he draws in the people he encounters in the film. On top of that, he’s quite good in the film’s musical sequences, where he does his own singing and plays the guitar and harmonica. As a guitarist myself, I was especially impressed by this, and appreciated that Chalamet clearly put in the work to learn both instruments. You can tell that he did a lot of preparation for this role, and it really pays off for him. This is easily one of his best performances, and he shines all through this film.
I was also a little unsure about Edward Norton’s casting as Pete Seeger, but he manages to give a rather gentle and balanced performance. Norton is usually a showier actor, but he is much more reserved here compared to his other work. He has a more avuncular quality that endears him to the audience, but the casting of Norton also gives some interesting shades to the Seeger character, as we are almost expecting him to blow up at some point, yet he never does. It also allows you to be a little leery of the character, as we wonder whether his attitude towards Dylan is genuine or if there are some ulterior motives at play. I was quite surprised by how well this performance worked for me, but I kind of dug it.
The rest of the supporting cast also puts in some standout work here. Monica Barbaro is not an actor I’m familiar with, but she really impressed me with her turn as Joan Baez. She has a charming presence all throughout the film, and she is especially great opposite Chalamet. Elle Fanning is also great, although I feel her role is underwritten. Fanning is such a pro that she is able to make something of it though, and has a couple of the film’s best moments. Scoot McNairy gives an excellent performance as Woody Guthrie, never speaking once due to his portrayal of Guthrie’s Huntington’s disease. This is a performance that could have been disastrous in the wrong hands, but McNairy plays him truthfully and respectfully. I also really liked Boyd Holbrook’s take on Johnny Cash, which makes the case for him doing his own biopic as The Man in Black. He only shows up in a few scenes, but he lights up the screen every time he appears.
A Complete Unknown definitely defied my expectations, sidestepping a lot of the pitfalls most music biopics fall into. It does share some commonalities with what James Mangold did with Walk the Line, but it feels more like its own thing, examining the phenomenon that is Bob Dylan and his impact on music. It may be a straightforward retelling of his early days, but it shows that one can not truly know Dylan in the way that most biopics present their subjects. He is a mysterious figure, even unto himself, and that portrayal alone makes the film quite interesting. It is a film that properly conveys the magic of Dylan and his music, and does a great job of depicting his ever-evolving nature.
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